Not Just Another Night
by Kitte-Wolf
Summary: A glowing-eyed creature of the night is preying on Minecraftians high and low. One thing- It's not Herobrine. Rating might go up.
1. Prologue

**Notch belongs to himself, while Herobrine was first created by someone I don't know the name of. Steve and Minecraft belong to Mojang**

The village was quiet, and the village was quaint.

The village was peaceful, and the village was happy.

That, perhaps, was the reason it was chosen.

Born to two average people of average ancestry, was an average son of average lineage. The father was your average miner, and the mother was your average crafter. The big brother was your average blacksmith's apprentice, and the big sister was your average adventurer. Or, not so average, as Siem Kunagi was more of an adrenaline-junkie than any other adventurer her village had met.

"Siem!" Floras, her mother, called out to the young woman (although she acted like a child) as the adventurer left the village. "Will you take a moment from your idiotic 'adventures' and look after your brothers? Your father is getting extremely irritated with you just skipping out on your duties as the eldest child!"

"But Steve and Darren are so boring!" The brunette whined, turning around, glaring at her mother as she gripped her leather bag harder. Her other hand moved to rest on the handle of her iron sword- a sure sign she was getting worked up about her mother's words. "Just see the names they have! They don't even mean anything, they're just… just… names!" She wrinkled her nose, scrunching up her face before returning to glaring. She very much disliked the names that the rest of her village sported- such as Connor, Sara, and Harry.

"That was the deal. I could name my daughters, and he could name his sons," Floras replied, glaring back, green eyes almost glowing with power, reminding Siem of a legend. The two women of the family were both quite alike, easy to anger and thrill loving even though Floras was the last to admit she was a closet adrenaline junkie. "So, you, Siem, as the oldest child, big sister, and adventurer you are, for Notch's sake, just look after them! Think of it as practice for when you have to drag along unskilled apprentices with you."

"Oh, my goodness. Mom, that is an amazing idea! I can begin teaching them the ancient and sacred art of Adventuring!" Siem ran off with a grin, switching emotions like an angered enderman, her braided hair bouncing against her back, shining in rosy hues as the sun rose. Her mother sighed, placing her blonde head in a hand, knowing she would likely have to send Gregoras, the village slayer, after them to get them out of trouble. Her daughter had a talent for that kind of stuff.

"Siem? I thought you were going off adventuring," the green-eyed girl's father said bitterly as she ran in the house, picking up his pickaxe and facing her full on. She dipped her head to him, eyes meeting his for a moment before looking for her brothers.

"I am! Mom just told me to take Steve and Darren with me," she replied, grinning, showing off white teeth. "Don't worry, I won't break them!" That was exactly what her father was afraid of, but he really couldn't put up a fight since his mule-headed daughter had made up her mind. The middle child, however...

"But I gotta start heading over to the forge-" The older brother began to whine, when the fourteen-year-old whisked over and grabbed him.

"James can wait," she exclaimed, twirling her brother around in a quick spin. "Surely he can understand the importance of family bonding time!"

"What about Steve?" The blonde boy muttered, trying to keep her from taking them away as he pulled his little pale hands from her tan callused ones. "He's only seven."

"You're only ten," Siem shot back, grabbing her brothers by their upper arms and dragging them out, iron sword belted on with her pick strapped to her back. "Don't worry, chicken! I'll keep you safe," she reassured him, grinning. He shot her a half-hearted grin, while people winced for the sake of the brothers. Running into the woods, Siem let go of her brothers, taking a deep breath of the fresh air, smelling the clean smell of oak and birch leaves and skipping around one of the white-barked trees while her brothers watched.

"There aren't any creepers out here?" Steve asked, blinking big blue eyes, prompting her to slow down and stop next to him. She crouched down to look him in the eyes, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Heck no," his sister lied, smiling reassuringly. She stood back up, and the two younger siblings believed her, sighing in relief as she lead them deeper into the woods along trails only she knew, skipping over rocks, bypassing streams, and dodging around holes in the ground.

"How often do you come out here?" Darren asked, blinking brown eyes. He was a little awestruck at the ease of which his sister moved through the forest. It was a beautiful action to see, and he felt clumsier than a cow in comparison to her.

"Oh, only every day," she chirped cheerfully as she skipped up over a fallen tree, pausing to let her brothers scramble over it and catch their breath. Steve tried to sit down, but she pulled him back up. "We gotta keep going!" The little brother whined, but the hyperactive teen kept them moving.

"Going where?" Her blonde brother wheezed, glancing around at the thickening trees.

"Somewhere amazing," she whispered in reply, looking up through the trees as a ghost smile graced her face. She was thinking about their destination. "The most amazing place you have ever seen! And we need to go fast!"

Picking up Steve, she began to jog, followed by a panting Darren. They surged out of the treeline, Siem disappearing around a rock as cold wind bit at the three travelers. He followed her cautiously, glancing around, before seeing his sister hopping up an obviously human-made path to the top of one of the peaks that ringed the valley their village rested in. It was chipped from the stone and worn down by the elements. Calling upon his knowledge of stone, he figured it was older than his sister. He just shrugged and followed, careful not to look down since he was afraid of heights. She bounded faster, and he struggled to keep up. It began to get colder, and mistier. He heard Steve cry out in protest of the bone-chilling fog, and then…

They were above the clouds, and Darren stared out over them as he joined Siem and Steve at the peak.

"Okay, wow," the blonde breathed voice miniscule among the thin air. Being up that high almost gave them the feeling of being gods, for they could see anything and everything when there were gaps in the clouds. His fear was forgotten.

"I know," his sister sighed, green eyes misty as she shielded her face from the sharp ray of the sun, Steve copying the action. "My favorite part of adventuring is the views. And to think you didn't want to come."

"I didn't," Darren replied, looking around before blinking. "Wait… Is the sun going down?" His voice carried a note of panic, and he tried his hardest to not hyperventilate.

"Oh, Brother of Notch! I didn't mean to take this long!" Siem exclaimed fearfully, scaring Steve. The seven year old whined to be let down, and the oldest sibling complied, nearly dropping him off the cliff. "We need to get back!" She began following the path as fast as she could, Darren calling out behind her.

"We can't go that fast! What if Steve falls?" He brought that little worry to her attention, helping his brother down from one of the higher jumps. His sister sighed, climbing back up to help the youngest. She kept glancing around, taking in anything and everything. She knew the trails like she knew the village, but that didn't mean something was lurking around the corner waiting to pounce. She told herself to get ahold of herself, not verbalizing it, trying to reason that there was no way any creepers or spiders or endermen could have spawned in the daylight while they were at the summit.

Back in the clouds, the particles of water began to light up with a red hue- resembling fresh blood. Siem started getting more agitated, twitching at the smallest cries of Steve and the simple sounds of pebbles being blown off the mountain. The sun had sunk below the horizon by the time they were out of the clouds. "This is not good," the brunette woman muttered, pulling out a torch and lighting it with a fire charge. "Hold this," she ordered, passing it to Darren, who complied. She pulled out her sword, holding Steve's hand until they hit the treeline. The torch Darren was gripping only lit a small amount of the world, and she pushed Steve in between them, pulling out her pick as well. Darren wrapped his hand around the younger's upper arm.

They first heard grass crunching about a kilometer from their village. Out of the trees came rattling a skeleton. Whirling, Siem charged it as Steve screamed, Darren pulling his brother as he began to run. Siem caught back up to them, urging them faster as they were pursued by the creatures of the night. They knew they were getting close to their settlement, but around them the forest began to change, almost morphing into a darker form, and became misty.

"What's happening!" The brunette screamed, pushing her sweat-slicked hair out of her face as they slowed down. The fog had thickened to where they could only see about a meter in front of them, the torch barely penetrating. She fought her speeding breath, closing her eyes for a moment and regaining some semblance of calm.

Someone screamed when the torch blew out. Siem lunged and grabbed her brothers, forcing Darren to drop the charred stick and guiding them forward. "We need to stay ahead of them," she muttered, the hairs on the back of her neck prickling. Then Steve screamed his lungs out, pointing to behind his siblings. Siem dropped her brothers, turning and backing up. Her eyes widened impossibly wide, her brothers scrambling away as two points of light advanced closer to the young adventurer.

In the village, two parents waited worriedly in their house. Hunter paced the length of the main room, Floras sitting on the couch. They both jumped when the door slammed open, a redheaded man bursting in.

"We heard screams from the woods. We're assembling a search party as we speak," the slayer hissed, turning on one heel and slamming the door as Hunter grabbed his pick to join them.

"Be safe," Floras hissed to her husband, hand reaching and eyes betraying her desperation as he opened the door again.

"I will," he replied, speech defined, sharp, and crisp.

Gregoras was in the lead, followed closely by a trio of the village guard, Hunter, and another miner. The redheaded man had an arrow ready in one hand and his bow in the other as his eyes quickly darted around the dark forest. Fog began seeping in towards them as Nathan, the youngest full member of the village guard, jumped. His brunette hair lay messily as he whirled around, eyes seeking something the others could not see. His breathing began to speed up.

"Something's going on," he gasped. "This isn't natural!"

"Get a hold of yourself!" Harold, one of the more experienced members of the guard snapped.

"He's coming!" The young man hissed in fear before turning around and running away, legs propelling him as fast as they could.

"Coward," Joe, the other guard sneered. Then they heard a scream- a scream that sounded exactly like Nathan. Harold stiffened, his protective instinct firing up.

"We can't leave him!" He ordered, and the party turned for the defense of their youngest member. They followed his path, getting turned around and bursting out of the fog into the village.

"What's going on!" Gregoras shouted as the fog receded, turning, blue eyes glowing like embers of rage as two small people and one bigger person ran into the village.

"Nathan!" Evan, the miner, grabbed his twin while Steve and Darren ran to their father.

"There was so much blood, so much blood…" Nathan whispered, shaking in his brother's grip. "He was there… His pick, it was drenched…"

"Where is Siem!" Hunter growled, hand latching onto Nathan's shoulder and squeezing it hard.

"He stood over her… She's not coming back," the young guardsman hissed, before fainting. Evan wrapped his arms tighter around his brother while Joe pried Hunter's hand from the young man's shoulder. Steve and Darren were shaking, the younger brother crying as Floras ran over, scooping her boys up into her arms. Hunter joined her, wrapping his arms around his wife and children. He had to keep them safe.

There was no body.

"We need to stop him before he takes another," a man, physically no older than twenty-three, although in reality older than humanity itself, approached his brother.

"Not long ago it was you making those kills," the physically older man smirked, turning towards his in all reality younger brother.

"I made those kills because I was ordered to," the other hissed. "I make kills with a reason. He kills for fun. Because he enjoys it."

"You must admit, to some extent you enjoy it as well," the older brother replied, dark eyes twinkling.

"I am a hunter. Just like any other hunter, I enjoy the rush of the chase and the satisfaction of a successful kill," the other man snarled defensively.

"Don't get so uptight," the bald man snorted.

"I am naturally defensive," the other replied, voice stiff. "What actions do you suggest we take?"

"That is up to you- you know the gods have no power on the Overworld," the older brother informed, for what felt like the thousandth time to the other.

"Why? Why can't you for once just break the rules?" The younger brother muttered bitterly.

"I break the rules every time I see you. You must know that I wish I could help you with all of my heart, but that rule is the one that I cannot break," murmured the other brother, pulling the younger to him with a gentle arm, dark eyes meeting light.

"I understand," he murmured sadly, looking down. "I just sometimes want to have my older brother for more than just a dream."

The other nodded, rubbing his hand gently over his younger brother's back. "Me too."

The dream faded, and both woke up in their separate worlds.

One in the Aether, one in the Overworld.

One to a ceiling of gold, one to the ceiling of a cave.

One to the happy cries of gods and demi-gods, one to the friendly hisses of creepers and chirps of endermen.

**New from Kitte-Wolf: Minecraft fiction!**

**I was bored.**

**Of seeing stories where Herobrine is just your generic bad guy.**

**So I'm adding more depth to his character :D Like an Enderman! (Go look up that parody, It's my favorite.)**


	2. Chapter 1

**I do not own Minecraft, or Notch, Steve, and Herobrine. I do however own Darren, Siem, Harini, Farendwae, Bais, Hessa, Spike, Jei, Erin, and Liri.**

Steve woke to the clang of a hammer, groaning and shielding his eyes from the glow of lava.

"Couldn't you be a bit quieter?" The brunette growled, sitting up and setting his feet on the floor. The older man laughed, a deep sound, as he turned to face his little brother, a twinkle in his brown eyes.

"You're the one who wanted to sleep in the forge with me." He smirked, short beard twitching upward with the corner of his mouth.

"I am now dearly regretting that," Steve groaned, pulling on his normal teal shirt, twitching at the twinge of pain running along his side. An old injury he would rather not have.

"But are you regretting it more than you would've regretted sleeping at the house?" Darren asked, eyes gleaming cautiously. He knew how much Steve was wary of their little sister, despite his protests otherwise.

"No," Steve sighed, standing up and stretching. As his muscles got back into getting used, the old twinge went away. "Don't get me wrong, I love Harini with all my heart, but I miss Siem, even after eight years."

"So do I," the blonde blacksmith nodded. "Anyways, you better get out pretty soon. I'm still waiting on that coal and iron!"

"I know," Steve grumbled, pulling his shoes on as he hopped around, trying not to fall over. "I'll grab a peice of bread on my way," he informed, knowing that otherwise his brother would worry more than necessary. He grabbed his bag, already prepped for a few long days in the mines, and headed out the door, pausing at the chest to grab some bread- a couple days old- and munch on it as he made his way through the village towards his mine. Entering the tunnels through his iron door after hitting the button, he whistled as he made his way to the new branch he had been exploring.

While only fifteen, Steve was quite possibly the best miner in the village as he stopped and swung his new iron pick at a vein of iron he had found. While the useful metal was, well, useful, he was really after diamond and redstone he could sell for a handsome price at the market, and maybe emeralds if he was lucky. Gold was generally just used for money or decoration, but if he found it, he would sell it to the local gold and silversmith.

Collecting all the iron from that vein, he walked on, feet hitting the stone in a well-known rythm, not noticing a pair of eyes watching him.

"You have got to be kidding me," the man muttered, blinking several times. "Notch, this is your precious Chosen One? I would have bet on the young slayer. She is a peppy one, but if this is who you decided, then by the Nether I suppose I better watch out for him." Shaking his head, Herobrine walked forward, keeping the miner in his sights. "I really would prefer if he would stop placing torches everywhere. While they make my job easier, they hurt my eyes like water hurts an enderman."

Steve kept mining, whistling several different folk tunes as he collected coal and iron. While he really didn't need any more, his brother had specially requested it, and it could sell for quite a pretty penny at the local market. People who had home forges always stockpiled iron weapons and armour, most of which lay unused in chests because of fear.

The most remote of backwater villages, Frothwater was located next to a waterfall which is how it earned its name. Not many people came by, and most of its residents were scared witless of the monsters that roamed the night. A select few served the guard, while even fewer were slayers and miners. Occasionally Darren and Haisin, the goldsmith, would head out with Steve themselves for supplies. He appreciated their help and company -it got very lonely in the mines, and they kept very little of the spoils for themselves.

Feeling a prickle on the back of his neck, he slowly began to turn around, catching sight of a black form from the corner of his eye. He whipped his head forward again, stiffening at the glimpse of the enderman.

If the thing teleported in front of him, he'd be dead meat.

Chirping relief in its native tongue, the enderman slipped back behind the wall. Had the miner's eyes met his, his instincts would have taken over and the miner would have been nothing but a bloody corpse on the cave floor. The enderman, known as Farendwae to his people, continued to watch the miner until the man began to yawn. The human placed a bed down, stretching to pop his back before laying down and curling up under the red blankets.

Smirking, Farendwae knew how to lead the man to what he sought. He knew where quite a large vein of emeralds was, and while his people did not use such rocks, he figured he could help the little man make a life for himself among his own kind since the funny creatures called useless gems 'precious', such as lapis and redstone.

Now, endermen do not use redstone to power their great cities in the End. A rare ore is created naturally there, and it can only be mined by the bravest endermen. That ore is known as amethyst, and while it has uses similar to redstone, it also can be used like diamonds to make swords and tools or when mined and cared for right it has mystical properties. Another ore, not at all dissimilar to iron, is mined in the End. It is known as turquoise, and it is used in the swords granted to the enderguard, more commonly known as the Guardians of the Night (or the Night Guard) among creatures of the Overworld. While the formal cave spiders and silverfish called them by their official name, endermen and surface spiders called them the enderguard while everyone else called them their last name.

Snickering, Farendwae removed his bag from his belt before pulling out a full stack of grass blocks. His people in the End quite liked the stuff, but for now it would serve a purpose for leading the human to what he considered precious. Smiling in the way of his kind, he looked back at his trail as he teleported back to the human to see a creeper approaching him.

"Bais!" Farendwae growled, pulling the little green creature back. "You remember what our Lord told us, right? We do not mess with this guy!" The little guy took in the leather Farendwae wore, and bowed his head. He did not want to mess with a scout of the local colony, even if said scout was his friend.

"But I want to pissssss ssssssome human off," Bais hissed sadly, looking up with big enderbaby eyes.

"Then go piss off some humans in the nearby village. They'll enjoy that. Heck, you can go find Hessa and I'm sure she'll enjoy making chaos with you. Heck- go get charged and then attack!" The black creature suggested, shoving his friend towards the exit.

"Great idea Farendwae! Sssssshe'll love that!" Bais happily scrittered off to get his sister, hissing in excitement as the enderman sighed.

He didn't get paid enough for this.

Hefting his pick in one hand and sword in the other, Herobrine peered around the corner, glowing eyes piercing the darkness that swamped the tunnel system just as badly as any of his auras could. He suppressed a shiver as he slunk on, sheathing his sword but letting his left hand linger on the hilt, ready to pull the pitch-black blade from its home.

Something made the fallen god turn around, and he was glad he did.

Coming face-to-face with the undead corpses of dead rebels is not something one wishes to have happen every day. But having been itching for a hunt, he narrowed his eyes and rushed forward, drawing his sword as he did. His pick stabbed through bodies and his sword slashed off rotten limbs until he was standing victorious near a pile of the re-dead corpses. Letting out a dark chuckle, Herobrine continued along the cavern's narrow passageway, left hand trailing blood along the wall after he had sheathed his sword. Some of it was his, some of it wasn't, for now he didn't care. He was a predator on the hunt as a feral grin lit his face, nostrils flaring to pick up scents long forgotten. Sharp fangs gleamed in the light thrown from his brightly glowing eyes. For this particular mission, it didn't matter if he let his base instinct take over- all he was doing was cleaning out a nest of pests- a job also given to him by his brother.

Steve woke up to see… a trail of grass blocks. They led deeper into the cave system, and the miner's eyes twitched. "What the Nether? When did those get there!" He exclaimed, picking up his pickaxe and beginning to trek forward with a groan, this time being tailed by a skeleton.

Growling, the white-boned creature ran a fleshless hand over the iron spikes sticking out of his skull. Those iron add-ons had earned him his name: Spike.

Oh yes. Skeletons were very original.

Of course, since the majority of them lived underground with the zombies, they really didn't get out a lot. Farendwae and Bais had taken to calling him Kigrellen, for reasons unbeknownst to the bony creature.

Careful not to let his bones clack together, he watched as the miner exclaimed as he found block after block of grass leading him deeper into the cave system. Spike found it very entertaining to watch, as humans were quite the funny creatures.

Steve snarled again. Who placed these blocks here?! Digging up another grass block, he stopped, shrugged, and decided to just ignore them- apart from following them, of course. He had been getting unnerved by the lack of mobs coming after him, and shivered.

He'd just finish following this trail, and then he would head back.

Notch sighed as the other god crossed his arms.

"Surely you can understand my position on this, Notch," the hot purple haired man said. Overworld fads were beginning to pick up in the Aether, especially the dying of hair different colors.

"Yes, yes I can. But you are indeed… overreacting," Notch replied. "You see, I know exactly what is going on in the Overworld. There is no reason that we should waste precious resources on sending a demi-god to watch when there is most likely a war looming on the horizon. Actually, we know that there is going to be a war! The time of the omen's fulfillment is coming."

"It was just an omen," the purple-haired god snorted. "Omens don't always come true."

"But this one will. The survival of our universe hinges on this," the bald god replied calmly, not letting his annoyance show through.

"Notch, you don't seem to understand," the other man spoke. "The Council has already decided on this. We will be sending a god to the Overworld to report on happenstances there, with or without your agreeing. It will make the process faster if you do agree, though."

Notch knew when he had been backed into a corner. "Very well," he murmured, as Jei strode off to let Uhari, the magic mistress, know of the decision. The elder god only could hope that his brother would be able to keep a low profile.

There was a god in the cavern, Spike suddenly realized. He had been watching the miner mine precious gems and metals for the hour and a half, and was getting bored. But when the blast of power hit the supernatural being…

Well, suffice to say, the skeleton was surprised that human's senses were so dulled that they couldn't feel when a god was entering the location.

Actually, Spike was picking up on the power of another strong immortal.

The very same immortal whom had been preying upon Minecraftia for close to twenty years.

Taking what amounted to a deep breath in skeleton body language, he didn't let himself fear as he sent out a feeling to other mobs nearby.

They were going to keep the god and miner safe, to try to bring their Lord's name back from whispered legends and fearful mutters.

They were going to save the world.

**Just a thing: If you submit an OC, they may not be in the story. I am not necessarily accepting OC's. I have a basic plotline outlined in my head and if your OC messes with that plotline they will not be included.**

**I don't really like Jei.**


	3. Chapter 2

Herobrine paced deeper into the stronghold. More accurately, former stronghold. This underground structure no longer housed an End portal, although the fallen god had faced off against various endermen. He had been forced to suppress his instincts, in order to prevent his life from being wasted for this mission.

Notch had unwittingly sent him to the rebel base, and while Herobrine knew how strongholds worked, this one had been so rearranged by the rebels that it had become too puzzling for even someone exploring strongholds for as long as they had existed had trouble navigating them.

Beginning to backtrack to find his way out, eyes skimming over patterns in the stone bricks, the warrior turned his sight towards the sounds of rebel reserve forces investigating the downed guards. He was going to have the worst time getting out of there, having to stealthily fight his way through the reserve forces.

Steve continued along the chasm, humming happily as he swung his pick at more diamonds. He had five. And he was quite happy- Darren would hug him really hard, take two of them with a smile, and let Steve sell the rest at the market. And the miner would get a brand-new diamond sword his next birthday.

Hearing footsteps on stone, the miner swung around as he pulled his sword out. A young woman gasped and stepped back, dark eyes wide. There was no trace of glow in them, and Steve forced down a shudder as lightning-bright memories tried to make their way into his mind.

"Oh," he muttered, putting away his sword. "Hi."

"Hi," the young woman replied in an upbeat manner, approaching him as though unaware he had just pulled a sword on her. Her dark red hair bounced against her back, let free. It barely reached the bottom of her shoulder blades. "I'm Liri. Who are you?"

"I'm Steve," the brunette replied, still a little on edge from her unannounced arrival. Used to creepers sneaking up on him in the mines, he was almost certain he was being watched by a pair of glowing white eyes. The prickling of the little hairs on the back of his neck was tipping him off to some most likely hostile force about to attack.

"You're a little young to be in here," Liri spoke out, leaning in close. She smelled like honey and roses, and her breath was a sweet mint flavor.

"I'm the only one that's willing to enter the tunnel system," he replied, leaning away from her. He didn't like how close and flirty she was getting with him.

Spike fought the urge to skullcarpal, instead settling for an annoyed rattle. This provoked Steve to jump in between the young woman and where the sound came from, just as another figure walked down the cave towards Spike. Feeling he could at least trust the woman to protect Steve for a little bit, Spike began to walk towards the young zombie.

"Why did you call?" She murmured, holding the shovel in her hand tightly. Greenish hair swept across her forehead and down her back in layered cascades, while darker green eyes looked questioningly towards the eyeless skeleton.

"Can you not feel the presences?" The bleached one asked, crossing his arm bones doubtfully. He would have thought she would feel them...

"I only assumed that… He had improved in power. Had I known there was another immortal, I would not have come," she replied, relaxing her grip on her shovel. She seemed to become a little less tense and twitch-prone. "However, now that you have pointed it out, I do realize that the other presence is feeling watchful. Hil would be able to tell you more."

"Your magic skills are good enough for me, Bones," Spike murmured, pulling his fiance to his ribcage. She began to nuzzle at his sternum, smiling happily.

"Ahem," a loud throat clearing came from the other side of the cave. "That's quite motherfucking adorable, but if you bitches are through with your fucking around, will you tell me why there are two Hell presences here and why you called me away from my bitch?" Bones and Spike pulled apart, the zombie glaring at the guy who leaned against the cave wall. A feral smirk was on his face, red eyes glittering in the darkness. His arms were crossed while his… extra appendages were folded against his back.

"Well, it's just wonderful to see you again Tak," another voice called from the other entrance to the cavern as a smaller, female version of the rough-edged spider walked in. Her hard skin was green-toned, compared to the other arachnid's black camouflage.

"The feeling is mutual, Cavette," Tak grinned, sharp teeth gleaming in the light thrown from their eyes.

"How many times do I have to tell you, my name is Harli, not Cavette!" The little creature nearly exploded, poison dripping off of her fangs as another spider jumped in between the two.

"Everybody just calm down," Payak tried to settle everyone down while Bones rolled her eyes as she walked to stand beside Harli.

"Now why did you call for us?" The undead woman asked again, raising an eyebrow. This dislodged a piece of hair, and it fell in her face. She didn't remove it, instead ignoring it.

"Because Herobrine asked me to watch over someone. He explained a little, such as this human and the girl he is with are the Chosen One and a goddess," the skeleton explained. Tak raised his eyebrows and whistled.

"So I got a chance at a powerful ratchet tonight," he said in the most seductive voice he could muster. He had practice, and how much she wanted to not, Harli found her eyes sliding towards the male's bare chest. He turned her on.

"Really?" Bones snorted, expression a mix between a grimace and a smirk. "As a goddess she will know to stay well away from you."

"Uh, guys? And girls?" Payak spoke up, but Tak, Harli, and Bones had started an argument.

"They're not going to listen," Spike growled, before raising his bow and letting an arrow fly into the fray. It didn't hit everyone, and effectively shut them up. "Everybody listen up! Payak needs to say something!"

"Uh, thanks… I don't know if all of you know this, but there are some pissed off creepers trying to kill the two we're supposed to be watching," the smallish surface spider announced. Bones cursed, beginning to follow Spike towards where Steve and Liri were trying to fight off the creepers. A couple had blown up, but more were coming.

"They're motherfucking rebels," Tak hissed, and without waiting for an order jumped into the fray. He landed on a creeper, jabbing the sharp tips of his long legs into the creature's head. Harli and Payak followed suit, the cave spider biting down and inserting poison into the rebels she could reach. Bones hit the TNT-loaded creepers with her shovel, while Spike shot arrows.

"Retreat!" One of the creepers called, and the green things scrittered off as fast as they could.

"Better run you bastards!" Tak yelled, pretty much bristling. If he had fur it would be standing on end.

"You better hope that the next time you see us you got better defenses, Gressor!" Bones joined on, hefting her shovel over her head. Steve's eyes were wide, as were Liri's. The miner's sword was held slack in his hand as he heard mobs speaking in the human tongue.

"You can… You can talk," the brunette's jaw was dropped. His blue eyes were gleaming in curiosity and fear.

"No shit sherlock," Tak growled. "Those rebels ain't gonna listen to none of my shit if I ain't talkin like you!"

"Rebels only speak in one tongue so that everyone can understand them when they fight," Payak explained. "They tend to be quite idiotic."

"You know," Harli said, "That is the worst word I have ever heard come out of that mouth." Spike shifted, and clacked his bones together rather loudly to get everyone's attention.

"If you are all done with niceties, we need to get these two out of here before those rebels come back with reinforcements- or, worse, if He shifts His attention to us," the iron-spiked undead decided. "We also need to see if we can find the nearest Night Guard captain."

"That would be Enderly or Hil," Bones informed. "Or, if we can find Farendwae, he has some pretty strong connections."

Tak shook his head. "We need enderguard captains, as Spike said. He's actually right, for once in a blood moon."

"Twice," Payak corrected. The skeleton had been right about Liri and Him being there, of course.

"Whatever," Tak muttered, looking away and glaring as he leaned against the wall again.

"Anyways," Spike intervened, sighing. "We need to get going if we are going to get to Enderly's colony or Hil's hut before nightfall."

"What do you mean before nightfall? It would be better for us to go at night!" Bones exclaimed, crossing her arms and glaring at her fiance.

"Or you could just glance behind you and see that I'm right here," a voice said from behind everyone. Steve and Liri made to whirl around with the mobs, but Payak placed his hands over their eyes.

"Do not look. We do not want to have to fight a member of the enderguard," he explained.

"Thanks Pay," the woman stepped down from the ledge she had been standing on, towering over everyone still. She wore purple clothes, and belted to her hip was a desert-sky colored sword. She had a regal air around her, and carried herself like royalty. "Now, what the Nether are all of you doing hanging around a human and a god? Of course, one can only assume that she is a Fallen…" Enderly crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow as Liri nearly exploded.

"A Fallen? I am not a Fallen!" She shrieked, Payak's hand falling away from her face. Her dark eyes were almost reddish in tint, and her hair began to flare up as though affected by static.

"Can we do this elsewhere?" Bones asked, twirling her shovel with a roll of her eyes. "Gressor could be back at any moment with more rebels-" She was cut off as an arrow whizzed by her head.

"Or those damn motherfuckers could be here now!" Tak snarled, readying to leap at the rebel skeletons as Spike nocked one of his own arrows.

"Hey!" One of the rebel zombies shouted, offended, letting Harli take him out with a bite to the nose. Enderly unsheathed her sword, her action matched by rebel swordsmen as she sent her own summons to other mobs. A rebel enderman lunged forward, swinging his axe, and the enderguard woman met his blow with the blade of her sword.

"What happened to you, Kairlarend? You had everything that many could only dream of!" She snarled, swinging at his neck. He dodged, leaning back before leaning into the swing of his axe as he retaliated.

"Exactly! Why can't everyone have that?" He growled in return, and Enderly snorted.

"If everyone had that kind of power, there would be no laws," she scoffed, before leaping out of the way of his blade. Spike was faring somewhat the same, using his bow to strike down the rebels coming at him. They were too close for him to shoot at them.

They didn't fare well for long. The numbers that the rebels had over the loyals were enough to swamp them, and Payak was waiting for the killing blow when a dark streak rushed by, slamming the rebel zombie into the wall. Pale fists hit relentlessly against green skin as a pair of creepers and another enderman jumped into the fray, followed by yet another enderman. The first enderman sprinted over to help Enderly, while the other beat up on some spiders. The creepers bit at the other creepers, trying their hardest not to explode again. Exploding more than once a day strained untrained creepers.

"Die!" The third enderman yelled, using his rather large sword to knock over rebels, and sensing they were pretty well beat in the skill area, the spider that had been put in charge called a strategic retreat.

"Yeah, you better run you piece of motherfucking slime! If I get my claws on you you're dead! Fucking Haklot!" Harli screeched, holding her shoulder and wishing her skin was soft like Bones' so that it would help stop the ooze of her blood. Taking the initiative, Bones placed her hands on the cave spider's shoulder, beginning to mutter an enchantment.

"Many thanks, Hawkrendlen, for coming to our aid." Enderly bowed, and one of the other endermen nodded in return.

"Indeed, but we need to leave these tunnels. It will not be long before we stumble upon another rebel party, and seeing as how the cave spider and the skeleton are both injured…" Hawkrendlen suggested.

"Their names are Harli and Spike," Payak informed.

"Ah, indeed," the male enderman nodded. "I remember the stories of how Spike earned his name. He is well known for what he went through." The dark blur that had saved Payak ambled over to the two conversing endermen, hands in the pockets of his jeans.

"If you two are done with pleasantries, I would like to return to the overworld to see if my friend has returned yet," he informed, fangs flashing in the torchlight. Farendwae nodded his agreement.

"I need to finish my scouting trip before it rains again," the enderman had followed the humanoid, arms crossed. He was followed by the two creepers, whom were Bais and Hessa.

"Yep," Hessa chirped. "Ussss creepssss got a lot to do, and we need to make sssssure that we can do it uninterrupted."

"You mean griefing," Tak muttered, while Bones furrowed her eyebrows, having picked up Harli. The little spider was trying to fall asleep.

"Fare, you weren't-" She was shut up by Payak placing a hard hand over her mouth. Since endermen generally had long names, other mobs tended to shorten them.

"It would be best if his true mission were to remain a secret," the spider hissed in the woman's ear, who nodded. Bais began to nudge Steve along, while a stumbling Spike prodded Liri forward. It would take them a while to get out, especially with Spike refusing help.

Stumbling out of the cave system, the Fallen god shielded his eyes, wincing away from the burst of light. Injuries lacerated his upper torso, and he began to limp in the general direction of where the colony he lived with was. There was a certain annoying friend probably waiting there for him. If he hadn't gotten himself in trouble.

**Here it is. Now, I'mma retreat back to my hidey-hole and finish up the cover I'm making for this thing**


	4. Chapter 3

**I don't own Minecraft, Notch, Herobrine, or Steve.**

Notch stood next to several other gods, Jei and Uhari among them. The majority were councillors, along with a few upper-level gods, such as Gahai, the god of destruction. His official job was to control the human population through non-violent means. He had failed, epically, but he still had the job because none of the other gods had access to what was happening in the Overworld. Well, they didn't use to.

They were crowded around the Seeing Pool, where Uhari had sprinkled some of her sight dust over it. It allowed them to see through the eyes of non-Fallen gods whom were stationed in the Overworld. It was a new technology, very recently developed by the mages.

Jei actually cursed when he saw that Liri and Steve were surrounded by mobs- mostly creepers, the worst of them all. Notch breathed hard, hoping that somehow they would get out of that mess. Hoping that his brother got help there in time.

* * *

Herobrine flopped onto the bed that had been placed in a small cave-room area in the colony. He had chosen something unassuming, in order to prevent him being hunted by human priests and exorcists, hoping to destroy him, and eventually all creatures of the night. Not even bothering to place his tools in the chest or change clothes, like usual, he fell asleep in the blood-encrusted clothing- not quite dreaming, but his sleep wasn't dreamless either.

* * *

_A young boy skipped along next to his older brother, grin big and brown eyes wide. The older teenager kept a watchful eye on his little brother, as another teenager and a younger girl walked with them. The girl, barely physically older than the young boy, ran next to him, dark eyes gleaming. The other teenager had blonde hair, which fell messily in his eyes._

_"Do you think they'll end up marrying each other?" The blonde teen asked, smirking playfully as the other dark-haired teen stuck out his tongue. Both walked different paths, but they were the best of friends._

_"I hope not," he replied. "Liri's way too flighty. Not to mention she'll probably stop around seventeen, and that would be awkward."_

_"Come on," the other whined. "Think about Yilgard and Haihay! They're perfectly happy together."_

_"It would hurt him," the dark-eyed teen replied. "Beside, he's already professed a wish to be with Abicalita."_

_"She's already a physical of twenty!" The other snorted, smirking and laughing._

_"And Hero's going to stop around twenty-nine, so I don't see the problem," the dark-haired teen sniffed, crossing his arms and frowning._

_"Notch," the other whined, using his most pathetic puppy-dog eyes in his arsenal._

_"Jei," Notch whined back, using puppy eyes of equal power, and they laughed together. At that moment, the scene changed, and darkness surrounded the young boy._

_"_You know what your purpose in life is_."_

_Hero screamed as darkness began to invade his eyesight, and he began to claw at his eyes, trying to __**stopstopstop**__ it. '_Make it stop!_' His mind screamed, his mouth tried to scream, but it was no use. His very essence was ripping apart and then re-meshing back together in a big bundle of broken spirit. Desperation invaded his being, and he lashed out at anything nearby- at everything that he could no longer see._

_"_And you know that you are dead_."_

_The boy screamed in physical and emotional pain, completely aware of what was happening. The floor gave out underneath him, courtesy of a spell performed by his brother, in a desperate bid to save everyone._

_He fell out of the sky, chased by a legion of Aetherly warriors._

* * *

Herobrine shot up, breathing hard. His heart was attempting to beat its way out of his chest, and he placed a hand over the blood-pumping organ in an attempt to calm it. His injuries were half-healed, pink and scabby and itchy just like all injuries when they were at that partially healed stage. The sound of mobs moving around the colony began to calm his frayed nerves, and he stood up slowly, back popping and sore muscles protesting strenuously. Upon hearing this, one of the sharp-eared creepers entered the house.

"Are you okay?" He asked, tilting his head in the endearing way of a worried creeper, his green scales reflecting light in an almost rippling pattern as he breathed.

"Yeah," Herobrine muttered, pulling off his bloodstained shirt and pulling a different one on- black with long sleeves. The Fallen didn't even bother to wrap his injuries, seeing as they were already scabbed over. His almost-empty quiver and bow lay where he dropped them by the door, and his belt, sword, and pickaxe lay next to the bed where they had fallen off. The creeper shook his head, frowning.

"You are not okay. You ssssstumble into the colony midday, battered like a human fresssssh from the Nether and collapssssse on you bed, not even ressssssponding to Usssssssa and Frissssso when they greeted you. You are mossssst definitely not okay," he replied, and the white-eyed keeper groaned, eyes rolling. The creepers of the colony were very observant, almost annoyingly so.

"Krossly," he spoke in a warning voice. Krossly just muttered and left the room, ducking his head low. The warrior could hear the DJ talking to an enderman outside, not listening to what they said and just pulling on clean clothes. His hair was still a teensy-bit matted with blood, okay, maybe a bit more, but he didn't even care about the blood splattered across his face so why would he cair about a little blood in his hair? Picking up his belt, along with the pick, sword, and bag attached to it, he clipped it into place after threading it through the beltloops of the jeans he was wearing. Opening up the chest in the corner, he dumped all the mob drops- curse the rebels, they always dropped items- and picked up enough arrows to refill his quiver. He clipped said storage device to his back and slid his bow into place. The ebony-wooded tool was sleek, and he allowed himself a smile as the familiar curve left his hand. Pulling off his black combat boots- a gift from on of the enderguard captains, he would have to clean the blood off of them later- and pulling on a pair of running shoes that he wore when he couldn't wear the boots, he didn't even bother to walk outside, instead teleporting to inside a creepy looking house. He startled a pale-skinned man into dropping a mug.

"Dammit Hero, did you have to do that?" The grey-eyed humanoid snarled, a smirk on his face.

"Of course I did," the Fallen god replied, keeping his face straight. The man rolled his eyes.

"Well next time give a guy a little warning, kay?" The Dark Denizen's fangs flashed out a little. The guy couldn't resist showing off. Herobrine just shrugged, and having let the vampire know he was still alive, walked out the door…

...Straight into solid sunlight. Wincing, he placed a hand over his eyes to let them adjust as much as they could, and headed out towards the human village as he placed a pair of sunglasses on his nose. They helped a little, but he still would've preferred to do this at night. Since the Frothwater residents were so scared of the night, he had to do it at day.

* * *

In the smithy, Steve crossed his arms as Darren crossed his.

"For the last time, no! She can stay in the extra room at the bar, but in no way will I put mother and father in such a position that they must be reminded of her!" The older blonde man was making progress in his argument, but the brunette was not about to back off.

"Well, it's about time that they finished grieving! Harini is practically being raised by Gregoras!" Steve snarled, while Liri watched.

"Eight years ago she was killed by Him. That is the worst way to have to lose someone," Darren hissed, bringing his face close to Steve's. "And it is no wonder that they haven't finished grieving, since you pretty much shut off all communications with them when you could leave the village on your own!" Not knowing who this Him was, Liri guessed that they were some criminal from the village or someone with revenge on their mind from elsewhere. She didn't exactly know there were no nearby villages, and any killers or thieves were exiled to the Canyonlands.

"Well…" Steve struggled to come up with a counter argument, and sighed. "Fine. But if any of the drunkards take advantage of her…" Darren rolled his eyes.

"I will personally take my hammer and beat them up," the big brother promised. "But Bill will make sure that no one lays a finger on her." Steve sighed, and walked over to Liri, motioning for her to stand up. She did, with a question.

"So, where am I staying?"

* * *

Spike watched the goddess and the Chosen One walk through the village from the shade of a tree. The forest nudged the village, with a few axe-bearers keeping the trees from completely swallowing the settlement. Adventurers passing through, and most of the time just staying and settling down, kept the place safe.

Bones rattled as another skeleton approached the hunter.

"Hey," she murmured. "I'll take over- you go get some sleep and heal. How they let you watch them with broken tarsals I will never know."

"Thanks Blackie," Spike murmured, limping off through the shade. The female skeleton nodded, twitching bare blackened phalanges as she felt an entity more powerful than the goddess enter the village. Knowing that he would keep them safe, she sat back to watch.

* * *

Herobrine walked into the village, ignoring odd stares as he headed directly for the bar. Walking in, he saw the barkeeper behind the long table, Steve and Liri talking to him. The barkeep looked up as the bell rang, and smirked.

"Hey, looks like we got ourselves another battle-weary slayer here," the scar-faced brunette remarked, seeing the blood the entity had not washed off, and Herobrine frowned. "Not a slayer, then, huh?" He asked, smirking. "Alright then. You're obviously an adventurer. What can I get you?"

"I'm actually here to talk to the miner. I asked around and was told he was here," he replied, leaning on the table.

"Alright…" Steve muttered. "Can I get a name?"

"Brian." The lie slipped easily off his tongue. "And you?"

"Steve. What do you want to talk about?" Herobrine gestured to the secluded corner of the room. The miner followed, albeit cautiously.

"I hear that you're the only one willing to regularly leave the village," the Fallen god commented, and Steve shrugged. The teen was not too happy about his village's fear of the forest, and heck, even the road, and he frowned.

"Yeah? What of it?"

"Danger," Herobrine hissed, leaning in close to where he was nose to nose with Steve.. "Before the full moon, this village will be destroyed. If anyone is going to survive, you need to convince them to leave."

"Are you insane?" Steve growled, glaring and leaning back to get the Fallen out of his face.. "Frothwater has been standing for over a hundred years! What says it's going to be destroyed?"

"It's happened to entire cities," the warrior replied.

"What?" The miner was quickly growing irritated, and wished he had his pick so he could hit this guy over the head a couple of times..

"Wiped. Entirely off of the map. By unsavory beings," the keeper said, an ominous tone to his voice. The miner began to feel a strange intimidating aura flow off of the person in front of him. "And Steve, they're coming for you." With that, he stood up and walked out of the bar, teleporting away from the village from a hidden point.

* * *

Shivering, Steve lay in his bed that night. The adventurer's warning echoed in his head, and with a start he realized the full moon was two days from tomorrow. Of course, the stranger could have been lying just to get the land for his party.

Or he might not have been.

* * *

In the bar, Liri shivered as she stood by the window looking out at the almost- full moon. Earlier that day, she had sensed… An aura. Not just any aura, either.

She had been told he was most surely dead. But there he had been, projecting an aura substantially darker than she'd ever felt it, but it was his. She was sure of it.

* * *

Jei was cursing again.

"Gahai! Did you not say when the first god Fell that all that would ever come after would die not days after being sent to the Overworld?" The purple haired god was pacing, while Notch and the others watched. Gahai stood there with his hands clasped behind his back.

"I did indeed," he replied, frowning. "I do not know what changed with this one, nor do I know who he is."

"Then we need to find out," Jei hissed, "Just so that we can kill anyone who shares his bloodline so that more Fallens do not survive." Notch did not allow himself to stiffen. If he gave anything away, then who knew what would happen- to him, to his other siblings, to his parents. It would be bad if the strongest family of Creators was found to have produced the strongest Fallen in history.

"Let us set the warriors on it," Abicalita suggested, voice smooth. Barely a physical of twenty, she was a gorgeous woman with golden hair that cascaded to her waist. Many male gods were seeking her hand in marriage, but she had said no every time. Rumours had been circulating that she had her eyes set on Notch, but the Creator had no interest in a romantic relationship.

"And waste more resources?" Uhari hissed, glaring. The other gods specializing in magic nodded with her. "We barely had enough to send Liri! We need to wait for the Sage to replenish our magic!"

Gahai smiled. It was not at all reassuring. "Do you have enough to send them?"

"...Yes," Uhari muttered, bowing her head. She did not wish to send them, for some very strategic reasons that they would be sending the ten most powerful warriors of the Aether to the Overworld, as well as stretching the Mages thin- so thin that the Aether's secondary defense would be rendered useless and the tertiary defence, the warriors in training, would be the strongest defense they would have.

"Then do it," Jei ordered, a serious look on his face.

"Does the majority agree?" Uhari asked. Everyone in the room except for the mages, Notch and a couple others raised their hands, but there were still enough people for the motion to pass.

"Then it is settled. We will send the warriors to the Overworld to hunt down the Fallen," Jei spoke with a sound of finality.

Notch allowed himself a small shudder for the sake of his brother.

**I'm drawing a picture with a lot of grass. Lol. Also, if you can identify one of the antagonists, PM me :) The other antagonist is not named yet, and does not appear in this chapter. Also, questions!**

**Who is/are your favorite character(s), and why?**

**Also, which location is your favorite so far- the Aether, the Village, the Forest, the Mines, or the Colony?**

**Please review. Yes, please hit that special review button and don't forget to be awesome and if you like the story, fave/follow!**

**Until next time my lovelies!**


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